Know What Is Inside Your Game: The Sims 3

Mariesalias wrote:
Thank you for your advice!

I tried to be more methodical about figuring out which items were causing the issue. Turns out it was 2 Genie lamps in one of the chests. Makes sense as I had not had then in a chest before I moved them.

I am going to keep items separated more though from now on as you suggest. At the very least it will make it easier to trouble-shoot any future issues! Over the years I have had issues with items bought from the consignment shop, the Imaginary Dolls (as dolls), and a number of other items. It is too bad the game is not programmed better.

Thank you for sharing about the Genie lamps. I would never have thought of that, but yes, it makes sense. I'm sure that bit of info will help someone else with their game, in the future. (hugs)

I love the Supernatural cabinets because they look good and are useful to keep things "where they belong." I still love my WA chests, though. They look great in my castles, especially.

Mariesalias wrote:
I have a question about part of #1. Wouldn't taking out all the nanite cages contribute to more lag in the game because it is more the game has to process and render? I thought the more stuff/clutter you have around your lot, the more it contributes to lag? Do they count for the same amount of processing whether in a chest or all out and sitting under a roof?

Having them out will require rendering, and putting them in the WA chest will not. I suppose having nanites in their own cages could be a problem in some games, if you have too many of them. So people should try it both the way I suggested and also stored in a WA chest, to see which way works best for them and their computer. I, personally, always enjoy seeing one of each nanite caged in a "collection" against a wall, because they are so colorful and pretty.

I usually have one sim, who is at the highest skill for bots, make all the trait chips. So I go out on a collection spree, and then have that sim make as many trait chips (of the kind I typically use) as they can with the recently caught nanites. Then I have them create whatever nanites they still need for finishing off a batch of trait chips.

After that I store trait chips in the WA chests. Extra nanites are either released, for the cheapies, or kept in cages if they are the more difficult to find types. But I rarely have more than half a dozen "left-overs" other than my one-of-each collection.

A common sense approach is what people will have to follow. It will all depend on their computer, and how many nanites they have on hand, at any given time. I would encourage people to "use them up," however.

Mariesalias wrote:
2. I generally keep the ghosts on the lot in a basement Ancestor room I build for them. I like the continuity they provide and to have each generation's children get to know their ancestors. But sometimes if the generation is particularly bust or intensive to play, I buy a second lot and relocate the ghosts and the horse(s) there. As long as ghosts have rocking chairs, they are happy. :D

LOL That is so cute: Have rocking chair, will be happy. :D

Mariesalias wrote:
3. Thank your for this information, I will have to look it up and figure out how to turn some of the photos into wallpaper! It would solve the issue of the digital frames always being blamk every time load up the save. I do keep a family member saved with photos and urns and irreplaceable items now. I've had to retcon into old saves to retrieve items and a couple ghosts in the past.

I want to try the wallpaper thing, as well. I don't know what impact it will have on my game, because technically it is CC. First I am going to get my small mods sorted out and once I have that all optimized, I'll try out the wallpaper to see what it does. But regardless, I'm guessing it will have less adverse impact on someone's game than dozens and dozens of sim created photos/portraits for legacy games. So it is probably the smart choice in those situations.

Mariesalias wrote:
Thanks for the luck! I feel with this family I need every bit I can get. I do save heirs and mates as both .sims3packs and .sims to prevent losing the family line. Thankfully, MC lets me re-connect family ties if I need to (even with ghosts!), which is a nice safety net to have. Without mods, I could not have gotten past the second generation! I am on generation 9 or a 20 generation legacy challenge so I am almost half-way there and do not want to give up, though it may take me a couple more years to complete it!

You are right that the game was not designed to be played this way. I sometimes wonder how anyone ever completes a legacy! It is a lot of work to keep it going and developing while trying to avoid corruption the saves. Thanks for all the advice you have given me over the years! My game has only been improved by it! (hugs)

(Hopefully this isn't too long of a quote)

I am not sure how people can complete legacy challenges, of this length. Not in big worlds, anyway. That would be too much for me.

I play families with a lot of history/generations, but with aging off. And story progression off. Which gives me ultimate control over how and when sims age. And it eliminates all the ghosts, thereby keeping the population small. As a world ages, that is difficult enough, for me. LOL

I'm glad people have been helped by my observations/advice. I do a lot of nail biting before advising anyone about this game. So much depends on how people play, their hardware configuration, their choice of mods, whether or not they use CC.

General advice can always backfire, in situations that are so individually specific. But it grieves me to see people struggle and get frustrated, so I do what I can. Because this game is supposed to be pure FUN. And I really want people to be able to enjoy it. :)